I have been on a downsizing kick lately, getting rid of things I don’t need. I got out the Christmas tree so that I could put it up for the holidays. The tree is stored with various boxes of old stuff that I rarely look through. This time I decided to look through the old boxes, and I found an absolute treasure trove! After Little Honey died, I scanned all the letters she wrote to me. I couldn’t help but think there weren’t very many…and wondered where all the others had gotten to. I have moved so many times that I figured they got lost along the way with so many other things. But there it was in the closet under the stairs: a shoe box packed to the gills with letters from Little Honey! My heart is filled with gratitude! I have been reading the letters in spurts throughout the day. It seems that grief brings with it a haziness around the memories of the deceased that can be quite distressing. These letters bring a freshness of her back into my memory that puts me at ease. I wonder what other treasures I will find in the old boxes under the stairs. I thought it would be great fun to hide a treasure somewhere in this old house for some future person to find. It seems an especially great idea since my home is 100 years old this year. Perhaps I will even make a treasure map to go with it. It reminds me of this fabulous French movie called “Amalie” that I adore. The main character, Amalie, finds a small boy’s box of treasures behind a tile in her bathroom. She can tell by the age of the toys that it’s from the 1940’s. She tracks down the former occupant and anonymously gives him his box of toys back. Then she vows to do more good deeds after that (with varying degrees of success) I have just the little box and treasures in mind. I’ll keep you posted. It would be fun to do this on New Year’s Eve, no? Because of the down-sizing, I also really question every new thing that I bring into my life. As a result, I do a lot more “window shopping.” I actually went to the craft store the other day and just walked around gathering inspiration without spending a cent!

December 30, 1924 - November 6, 2012 Raymond Lee Zager passed away peacefully with beautiful music playing and held by his son Paul and his daughter Lynnanne and wife of 39 years, Helen. He was an extraordinary man, filled with life to the very end - We will miss you very much!